Starbucks To Hire 10,000 Refugees On Heels Of Executive Orders

We’re not even two weeks into the Trump presidency, y’all. Over the weekend, an Executive Order was issued to ban all immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, and all global refugees, from entering the United States. Known by some as the Muslim Ban, the executive order affects citizens (and dual citizens) from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen even though Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—you know, the countries of origin for those responsible for 9/11—are somehow absent from the ban. It probably has nothing to do with Trump having business interests in those countries. Probably nothing at all.

But like a cup of Pike Place Roast from an airport kiosk before a 5am flight, Starbucks is here to save the day. Well, not Save save, but they’re definitely helping. Lame duck CEO Howard Schultz sent out a letter to all employees announcing that, amongst other things, the international coffee chain plans to hire 10,000 refugees to their cafes.

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In the letter sent out yesterday, along with this new hiring strategy, Schultz restated Starbucks’ support for the Dream Act and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, their commitment to healthcare coverage for employees, and their stance against immigration and trade restrictions with Mexico, all things that may see drastic changes under the new administration. But the biggest news from the letter is the company’s plan to hire 10,000 refugees over the course of the next five years. Schultz’s statement on the initiative is reprinted in full here:

We have a long history of hiring young people looking for opportunities and a pathway to a new life around the world. This is why we are doubling down on this commitment by working with our equity market employees as well as joint venture and licensed market partners in a concerted effort to welcome and seek opportunities for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination. There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business. And we will start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.

These are uncertain times in America, when by executive order we are actively rejecting the world’s tired and poor and huddled masses. But in this topsy-turvy world, it is nice to see someone like Schultz at Starbucks wielding the significant amount of power they have accrued to show that the American Dream isn’t just for those who have already achieved it, that there isn’t a “close the door behind you” policy on success, but that the ideals upon which this country was founded are still very much alive. Even in they are currently under siege from the highest ranks of our own government.

The full letter from CEO Howard Schultz can be seen here.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.

*top image via Reuters